Neil Armstrong 1930-2012

U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong is seen in this NASA portrait taken in July 1969. Armstrong, the mission commander of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, was the first person to set foot on the moon. His family announced he died Saturday, August 25, 2012 at the age of 82.

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A family photo of six-year-old Neil Armstrong.

Born in Ohio in 1930, Armstrong's fascination with airplanes began with his first flight at age six, and that fascination never abandoned him.

Credit: Family photo

Neil A. Armstrong in a 1958 photo. Upon graduation from high school in 1947, Armstrong received a scholarship from the U.S. Navy. He enrolled at Purdue University to begin the study of aeronautical engineering. Armstrong was called to active duty during the Korea War and flew 78 combat missions from the carrier USS Essex in a Grumman F9F-2 Panther. He received the Air Medal and two Gold Stars.

In 1952, Armstrong returned to Purdue University and graduated with a bachelors degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955. He later earned a masters degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California.

He later became a test pilot and flew the hottest aircraft around, including the sleek X-15 rocket plane, taking the powerful craft to 207,000 feet - the very edge of space.

Credit: NASA Dryden Flight Reserch Center

Pilot Neil Armstrong is seen next to the X-15 aircraft after a research flight in 1960. The missile-shaped X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 feet long with a wingspan of 22 feet. Over a decade X-15s made 199 flights, and information gained from the program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, as well as the space shuttle.

Credit: NASA Dryden Flight Reserch Center

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, command pilot of the Gemini V backup crew, sits in the Gemini Static Article V spacecraft and prepares to be lowered from the deck of the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever for water egress training in the Gulf, July 16, 1965.

The mission almost ended in disaster when a thruster on his craft stuck open, sending the ship whirling through space. With his trademark coolness, Armstrong used a back-up system, stopped the one-revolution-per-second spin and made an emergency landing in the Pacific.

Neil Armstrong is pictured at the Lunar Landing Research Facility, February 12, 1969.

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In preparation of the nation

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Apollo 11 astronauts Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (left), and Neil Armstrong practice gathering rock specimens during a geological field trip to the Quitman Mountains area near the Fort Quitman ruins in Texas, February 25, 1969.

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Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, wearing Extravehicular Mobility Units, participate in a simulation of deploying and using lunar tools on the surface of the moon beside a Lunar Module mockup during a training exercise on April 22, 1969. Aldrin (left) simulates deploying the Passive Seismic Experiment Package to pick up a sample while Armstrong holds a bag to receive the sample.

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Dunned in his space suit, mission commander Neil A. Armstrong does a final check of his communications system before the boarding of the Apollo 11 mission, July 16, 1969.

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Astronaut Neil Armstrong, then 38, smiles inside the Lunar Module on July 20, 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, joined by crewmates Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins.

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At 10:56 pm EDT on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon.

His words, broadcast back to Earth, were the immortal, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

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On July 20, 1969, science fiction became reality when Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to reach the Moon. In this image, Aldrin was photographed by Armstrong after deploying the Early Apollo Scientific Package.

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Astronaut Neil Armstrong, Mission Commander, works at the Lunar Module at Tranquility Base during the Apollo 11 Mission, July 20, 1969.

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One of the first steps taken on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission.

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Astronauts Neil Armstrong, left, and Edwin Aldrin Jr. deploy the flag of the United States on the surface of the moon, as captured by a camera mounted on the Lunar Module, July 20, 1969.

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The three members of Apollo 11 await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet, after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii, on July 24, 1969. The fourth man in the life raft is a U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. All four are wearing Biological Isolation Garments.

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Donned in biological isolation garments, the Apollo 11 crew members (from left, Edwin Aldrin, a waving Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins - exited the recovery helicopter which picked them up after splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, and boarded the USS Hornet aircraft carrier, July 24, 1969.

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After safely returning to Earth, the Apollo 11 crew members - Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin - were kept in quarantine aboard the USS Hornet, where they were congratulated by President Richard Nixon, July 24, 1969.

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New York City showers the three Apollo 11 astronauts - Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Jr, and Neil Armstrong - with ticker tape during a parade down Broadway and Park Avenue, at the time the largest in the city's history, August 13, 1969.

Despite the initial fanfare, after the historic flight of Apollo 11 Armstrong remained a humble and intensely private person. He left NASA and taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati and later served on the boards of several aerospace firms.

Credit: NASA Dryden Flight Reserch Center

President George W. Bush greets the astronauts of Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong, center-right, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, right, and Michael Collins, left - in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington July 21, 2004, 35 years after Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to land on the moon July 20, 1969.

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Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong poses in front of his photo during a visit to the Prince Felipe Museum in Valencia, Spain, July 26, 2005.

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Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong testifies during a hearing before the House Science and Technology Committee May 26, 2010, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

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President Obama greets Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington July 20, 2009, 40 years to the day after Armstrong walked on the moon.